


california here we go

by fightclubsoundtrack



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Losers Club (IT), Alternate Universe - College/University, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Beverly Marsh Knows Everything, Bill Denbrough & Eddie Kaspbrak Are Best Friends, Bisexual Beverly Marsh, Bisexual Bill Denbrough, California, College, Eddie Kaspbrak Has ADHD, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eventual Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Everyone Loves Mike Hanlon, Everyone is Gay Except Ben Hanscom, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Gay Stanley Uris, Jewish Richie Tozier, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Matchmaker Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon Deserves Nice Things, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Has ADHD, Richie Tozier Has a Sister, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Sonia Kaspbrak Being Terrible, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, Stanley Uris is So Done, The Losers Club Are Good Friends (IT), The Losers Club Are Not Heterosexual (IT)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:33:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24224389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightclubsoundtrack/pseuds/fightclubsoundtrack
Summary: "what about you? what brings you to the city of angels, eddie spaghetti?""a daring 4am escape from a homophobic town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, maine."the taller boy laughed and grinned at him, before looking around the room."i like him, can we keep him?"modern day reddie (& losers club) college austory title comes from the song california here we go by the garden
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, The Losers Club/The Losers Club (IT)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 68





	1. lust for life

eddie kaspbrak was fucking _excited_ to say the least. at eighteen years of age, he'd finally managed to escape the suffocating, homophobic clutches of derry, maine and was moving to los angeles, california. away from the high school bullying, away from the small town lifestyle where _everyone_ knew your business, away from the rumours about his sexuality that had spread like wildfire and, most importantly, away from his _mother_.

if he could count sonia as his mother. yes, she gave birth to him and yes, she raised him- but did eddie really want to think of her as his mother? she treated him like a child, never even letting him make friends. he had to be _perfect_ , and she gave him bruises when he wasn't. she made him take placebo medications his whole life because _oh eddie-bear you are sick, sick, SICK!_

oddly enough, that's what she said to eddie when the town gossip that he had been caught making out with a boy reached her ears. _sick, sick, SICK!_ eddie supposed that was better than when the fact that he was irreversibly, absolutely a homosexual had set in. then sonia had said he was _dirty_. she almost made him drop out of his senior year of high school, insisting that eddie would stop the _disgusting act of rebellion_ if he was cut off from the world.

yeah, right. that's how it works. eddie spent years trying to pray away the gay before he came to terms with it. he didn't choose to like boys, i mean seriously, who would?

so eddie had decided now. he wasn't going back to her. he was staying in los angeles. sonia was getting cut out of eddie's life, in the same way she cut everyone he ever tried to befriend out of his life for him.

los angeles was like a fucking _fever dream_. eddie couldn't believe it. he was _so_ glad sonia had asked him to get the mail that day, otherwise he would be stuck in derry for the foreseeable future. there was _no way_ she would have given him the letter.

the _letter_. the best thing eddie had ever held in his hands. _his_ letter. an acceptance letter into the university of california los angeles to study nursing. his _dream_ degree in his _dream_ college. oh sonia kaspbrak wouldn't have let eddie within ten foot of this letter if she had seen it.

which is why eddie didn't let her see it. sonia didn't find out eddie was going to college. he didn't tell her he was going. he confirmed his admission, sorted out accommodation, booked his flight and sonia didn't know a _thing_ about it. eddie felt like a secret agent. he bought himself a brand new phone (and maybe, just maybe, he bought himself airpods- fuck it, he'd earned it) using some of the money he'd earned from his part time job at derry's only record store, night shift, and set the phone up and hid it under a loose floorboard beneath his bed. eddie had been using sonia's shitty old phone from 5 years previous, and he had been forbidden from having social media. sonia checked through the phone, randomly, so that eddie couldn't hide it.

the first thing he did with his new phone was make instagram, and then snapchat and facebook. he eventually caved in, and downloaded tiktok too. eddie felt like he'd missed out on a _lot_. sure, he'd secretly used social media but these were accounts he didn't have to delete. eddie was pretty proud of himself- he'd managed to get over three thousand followers on instagram in just a few months. he didn't exactly see why, but he wasn't complaining.

eddie had begged for the job in night shift when he was barely fourteen- old mr king, who owned the store, had been reluctant. clearly, he wasn't particularly fond of of eddie's mum. but really though, who was? regardless, he took eddie on. thankfully. eddie told his mum he was studying at the library whenever he was working. he didn't spend a cent of the money he earned in the over four years he worked there, knowing that one day he would get out of derry. he had to.

a week before eddie was due to leave, he started packing. he knew he had to pack light, or sonia would know. he still managed to fill both of the suitcases he had found in the attic, along with a backpack and a hold-all (all of which were gradually hidden in the garage). the hold-all didn't really count to eddie, though, seeing as it only contained his dad's record player and all ten of eddie's records. sonia would have _murdered_ him if she had even discovered that eddie was listening to music. she only _permitted_ him to listen to her favourites- all of which were christian country songs. some of which even had subliminal homophobic messages. _truly amazing_.

eddie didn't bring many of his day-to-day clothes. no, he packed the clothes he had hidden from sonia- in the back of his wardrobe, under his bed, in the garage, in the attic. anywhere she wouldn't find them. you see, sonia wanted eddie to be prim and proper and a jock. not one of the really popular, super athletic jocks, that was forbidden- eddie was _fragile_ (except he wasn't) and he had _asthma_ (except he didn't). eddie was on the track team- and he was _damn_ proud of that- but sonia expected eddie to dress like his teammates. sweatshirts, shapeless jeans, exclusively white converse. _no fucking thank you._ so eddie had been living his 1980s and 1990s fashion dreams in secret. that's how he wanted to look, and so that's what he brought to los angeles. fuck sonia. fuck her perfect little vision for her perfect little son. she didn't own him. she didn't control him anymore.

the day before he left, eddie visited the cemetery. he felt guilty, he had to admit, that he didn't do this often. but he wasn't coming back here, not for a long time. he had to say goodbye. it was a nice day, eddie had to admit. it was warm, sunny. a good day to remember as his last day in derry. he sat down on the grass when he reached his destination, a black marble tombstone with words engraved in gold.

_'here lies FRANK KASPBRAK, 1974-2006. adoring father to EDWARD and loving wife to SONIA. may he rest in peace.'_

eddie ran his fingers over his father's name, followed by his own. he wished his dad hadn't died so early, but he didn't _choose_ to get cancer. eddie wished he could remember more about his father but he had only been five when they lost him. sonia hadn't been like _that_ before frank had died. eddie knew that much. he ran his fingers over their names again, taking comfort in it.

"hey dad," eddie murmured softly, even though there was no one about to hear him. "i'm coming to say goodbye. not goodbye forever, i'll come back and see you one day. but it's goodbye for now. if a god exists, then you'll be up in heaven looking down. and you'll know why i have to leave. you'd have been proud of me, i hope. i mean, i got into college! UCLA, i'm doing nursing. i wish you'd been here to see this. i graduated high school too. mom tried to stop that from happening, you know. but still, i made it. i wish i could stay here longer, or that i'd brought flowers for you but i need to get up at 2am. i'm bringing some of your things with me, i hope that's alright. i've got your record player, mom threw the records out though. packed some of the shirts i remember you wearing too- sex pistols, dead kennedy's, misfits and the clash. i think mom threw your other clothes out though, i found these in the furthest corner of the attic. i listen to those bands now, by the way, not my usual thing but they remind me of you," eddie felt his voice crack a bit, but he kept talking, "i miss you dad, i really do. not a day goes by that i don't wish you were here. i wish you got to see me go off to college, maybe i wouldn't have went so far away. i promise i'd have kept in touch with you, no matter what." eddie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his father's name, ignoring sonia's voice in his head screaming _germs, germs, germs._ he stood up, slowly. "i love you dad. this is goodbye for now, but not forever. i just couldn't leave without letting you know."

eddie felt a tear slip down his cheek as he walked, and for once- he let it. he didn't wipe it away the moment he felt it, like he normally did. he didn't have to hide his emotions anymore. he was so close to freedom.

eddie booked a taxi for 4am the day he was leaving, even though bangor international airport was only an hour away and his flight was at 8am. he couldn't wait to leave that house, not home. never a home. he couldn't _wait_ to leave the town, even the state. sure, he'd never left maine before and he was _terrified_ but he had a good feeling about this. freedom. he could taste it.

he had considered not leaving an explanation for sonia, and just leaving without a trace, but he couldn't bring himself to. no matter what she had done to him throughout the years, eddie still had a heart. so he settled for leaving a message on the back of a postcard in the middle of the kitchen table, where he knew she'd see it first thing that morning.

one he had reached the airport, eddie walked up to one of the payphone outside and dialled the number for the front desk of the sheriffs department.

"hi, it's edward kaspbrak here. i'm just wondering if i can make the sheriffs department aware of something?"

"oh, hello! has something happened, edward?"

"no, it's okay. i just want to pass on a message and i'd like you to notify the whole department, if that's alright?"

eddie could hear the confusion in the receptionist's voice when she spoke; "uhm- yes that's alright i've got a pen and paper here, go ahead."

"you know how my mother is right?" the receptionist made a noise in response. "well, i'm going to college out of state. i'm at the airport now, actually. i haven't told my mother of this in advance, as she would have stopped me. i'm just calling to make sure the department is aware that when she _inevitably_ attempts report me as a missing person, that i'm not missing. i've moved away. i've left her a note saying this."

"oh- oh my god," came the reply on the other end of the line. eddie half laughed at this. "i'll type this up and email it out to everyone, is that alright?"

"yes, that's perfect thank you."

"would you be able to say where you're going?"

"i'd rather not, to be perfectly honest. i know mother will try to find me if i do."

"that's alright. thank you for notifying us edward, you're definitely saving a lot of police time and effort by calling. on behalf of derry sheriffs department, i wish you all the best."

"thank you, it's much appreciated."

and that was that. eddie didn't need to worry anymore. he didn't need to panic about sonia coming after him or the cops turning up at his dorms to question him. he didn't need to think about derry anymore. he was _free_.

he was proud of the message he left for sonia. it was written on the back of a postcard that had a photo of the derry quarry on it, with _'see you soon!'_ written across the front. eddie had crossed out the word _'soon'_ and replaced it with never. on the other side, he had written;

_'hi mom, eddie here- obviously. i'm gone by the way, i've left for college! bet you didn't see this coming! no, i'm not coming back. no, i'm not telling you where i'm going. it shouldn't have had to be like this, but i didn't have a choice. i'm not staying with you forever. you should look up munchausen by proxy, by the way. i think it would be pretty eye opening for you. i wish you all the best for the rest of your life, even if you don't exactly deserve it. don't bother contacting the police- by the time you see this, i'll have already let them know that i'm not a missing person.'_

he could already picture sonia's screams when she sees this in his mind. eddie knew he should feel bad- but he didn't. he felt like he had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders.

eddie turned and looked around him as he joined the queue for boarding his flight. he gazed at a window on the other side of the departure lounge, knowing that somewhere in that direction was derry.

he smiled at the air hostess as he gave her his passport and boarding pass. a genuine smile, which he had almost forgotten he was capable of doing.

_eight hours and forty-five minutes._ that's how long the captain said the flight to los angeles international airport would take. in eight hours and forty-five minutes eddie would be beginning his new life. on the other side of the country. alone. maybe saying he was excited didn't really cover it, it didn't really put into words how much eddie couldn't wait to arrive in LA. maybe eddie should be scared- sonia said airplanes were a _death trap_ and so eddie had never flown before. and yet, he wasn't scared.

as the flight took off, eddie relaxed back into his seat, put his airpods in and chose a song he felt was pretty fitting to start off the journey- _california here we go._


	2. this must be the place

eddie had expected to just sit listening to music, daydreaming, for the entire flight. he was okay with that. it's what he was prepared for. eddie wasn't due to move in to his student accommodation for another four days, so his plan was to use the inflight wifi to look for an airbnb to stay in until then. probably a bit late to do that, but eddie had _possibly_ forgotten to book anything before this.

what he didn't expect was for the nervous looking brunette boy beside him to tap his arm half an hour after take off. he wasn't complaining though, company was company- and eddie had watched the boy pin a bisexual flag pin onto his backpack the moment he got onto the flight.

eddie took both of his airpods out and put them back into their case when the boy tapped him- pulling one out would just be rude. eddie smiled at him, encouraging him to speak.

"h-hi, s-sorry for my s-stutter. just t-thought i'd t-talk to you s-since you look about m-my age and w-we're stuck h-here for h-hours. i'm b-bill denbrough, b-by the way," the boy said, extending his hand out to eddie.

eddie ignored sonia's voice in his head, muttering about the _germs, germs, germs_ , and shook Bill's hand with a wide smile.

"hey bill, nice to meet you. i'm eddie kaspbrak. what's bringing you to the golden state?"

bill returned eddie's smile, before speaking again, "i-i'm starting m-my f-f-first year at UCLA, j-just wanted to g-get there e-early to see the c-city."

eddie grinned at the other boy, "no way! that's what i'm doing too! what's your major?"

bill looked a lot more at ease now, and just as excited as eddie was. "e-english, it's s-stupid but i w-wanna be an a-author. what about y-you?"

"ooh, that's not stupid at all!" eddie said, "i'm going into nursing, which hopefully isn't a horrific decision seeing as i'm moving to the other side of the fucking country for it."

bill laughed at that, "i-i'm sure y-you'll be f-fine, eddie."

eddie didn't think this day could get any better. he learnt that bill was from bangor in maine but his family had actually moved over to derry as soon as bill graduated from high school, which is why eddie hadn't met him before- "you didn't even get to enjoy the relentless homophobia and crippling anxiety that comes with the anticipation of said homophobia," eddie joked.

bill laughed again. "i g-got a t-taster within, l-like, t-three days."

"shitttttttt, let me guess- did it come from a blonde kid with a mullet, about six foot tall i'd say? looks sort of like a methed-up neanderthal?"

bill looked only mildly alarmed, "h-how'd you g-guess?"

"that would be henry bowers, bullied me like all _fuck_ from elementary school onwards. he got held back twice and ended up beside me in pre-calculus."

"t-that s-sounds like _hell_." bill replied.

"dude, it was _wild_. he was so pissed that he couldn't even cheat off me because i was so shit at the class. what'd he do to you?"

"my m-mom s-sent me over to w-walmart to get some s-shit and he was j-just s-standing beside the d-door. i tried t-to w-walk on past and he p-put his hand o-out to s-stop me. l-looked me u-up and d-down and s-said "t-this is a f-fairy free z-zone s-so fuck o-off."

eddie burst out laughing, and bill did too.

"man what the fuck, what did you even do?"

"i-i just s-stared at him and w-walked on, i t-thought he was a j-junkie or s-some s-shit."

"high school ended like three months ago, he probably is by now."

it was four hours into the flight now, and eddie knew he'd just made a best friend. bill and him had similar music tastes, with bill _thankfully_ having good taste and agreeing with eddie that ode to viceroy by mac demarco is a work of art. eddie learned that bill had been playing drums since he was ten, and eddie one-upped him by telling him that he'd been playing piano and violin since he was four (and, naturally, taught himself to play guitar too). they both loved the same tv shows and movies and even dressed similar. eddie wished bill had moved to derry sooner. they'd followed and added each other on social media and it all just felt _right_.

at five hours into their flight, eddie had an epiphany, and squeaked out an _"oh my GOD, bill."_

"w-what?" came the response.

"have you checked who your roommate is yet? i got an email last night but i haven't opened it yet."

eddie had been half asleep when he got the notification, so hadn't opened it- but he gathered that the administration team at ucla were hoping that students would contact each other on social media before moving in together.

"s-shit, i h-haven't. i-imagine we w-were roommates."

"i wouldn't complain."

bill beamed at that, "n-neither would i."

eddie found the email on his phone and looked at bill who counted down.

"t-three, t-two, one, go"

eddie scanned his eyes over the email and yelped.

"holy _fuck_ bill, we're fucking roommates!"

"j-jesus christ, w-what're the c-chances of t-that?"

"this is a fucking miracle. maybe god does exist."

bill snorted out a small _"d-doubt it,"_ which eddie had to agree with.

"okay, so it's me and you as well as a boy named stanley uris."

"s-should we l-look him u-up?"

"definitely," eddie said, opening facebook and searching up the boy's name. eddie had to admit, the boy was pretty. he also noted the star of david in his facebook bio, but there wasn't much information there otherwise. no hometown, school, anything. eddie was more focused on the boy beside stanley in his cover photo- a boy with thick nerdy glasses and unruly black curly hair, wearing the most obnoxious hawaiian shirt that eddie had ever seen over a PUP t-shirt. eddie didn't know _how_ the boy managed to make that look good and _why_ he was instantly attracted. whatever, though- there was no chance eddie would encounter him.

bill, however, was looking at stanley's photo as if he was the prettiest boy he'd ever seen.

"see something you like, bill?" eddie laughed.

"h-honestly? absolutely, y-yes. w-what are the c-chances he likes b-boys?"

"we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

six hours into the flight, eddie realises he may have forgotten to do something, yet again- booking an airbnb.

"hey, bill?"

"y-yeah?"

"did you book somewhere to stay until we can move into the the apartment?"

bill's face dropped and his eyes widened in alarm, "s-shit, i t-totally forgot."

"so did i, do you want to look places up now and we could stay together and split the cost?"

bill nodded and smiled, "of c-course, but we h-have to g-go to h-hollywood b-boulevard and g-griffith park."

"that's fine with me, i wanted to see those myself. will you come with me to amoeba records? maybe a thrift store or two, i didn't bring many clothes. and also, maybe, a tattoo parlour because i kinda want a tattoo."

"i h-haven't been in a thrift s-store s-since we left b-bangor, we n-need to go t-to one. a-amoeba is definitely a m-must see, i d-didn't bring a record p-player t-though. j-just s-some records i w-was gonna p-put on t-the wall."

"i brought one! i was _not_ leaving it behind, no matter what. you can use it, if you want to."

bill beamed at that, "r-really? t-thank you, e-eddie. if y-you get a t-tattoo, i w-will too. w-what were y-you t-thinking of?"

"thank fuck, i need the moral support. but yeah, you know joy division?"

bill nodded, "l-love them."

"i was thinking of getting their unknown pleasures logo inside an old tv on my forearm. or maybe something really small and just get 'blue boy,' as in the mac demarco song, on my upper arm- you know, above my elbow but not on the back."

"w-why not d-do b-both?"

"that's a good idea, can't argue with that. i might. come on though, what'll you get?"

"i r-really love a t-tribe c-called quest, r-right? so m-maybe s-something t-to do with t-that."

"dude that would be _sick_."

"y-you think s-so?"

eddie nodded, "definitely, you should go for it."

_forty five minutes_. that's all that stood between eddie, and now bill, and los angeles. eddie was shaking with excitement. maybe he should have put his adderall into his backpack instead of one of his suitcases. adhd was the only thing eddie actually had _wrong_ with him- but it was the one eddie had to get tested for beneath sonia's nose, as she _refused_ to even entertain the idea.

"e-eddie?" bill began, pausing for a moment until eddie gave him a noise of acknowledgement. "i w-was just w-wondering, why LA? w-why move so f-far?" eddie felt his eyes widen, and bill quickly added, "its o-okay if y-you don't w-want to answer t-that."

"it's alright, bill, don't worry. i'm just shocked that you lived in derry for a few months and didn't discover or hear about sonia kaspbrak."

"i t-think i know h-her name, is s-she your m-mom?"

"you probably heard a parent talking shit about her, she is the _worst_ person in derry- straight up."

"s-shit, s-seriously?"

"you know what bill? i'm gonna summarise this because i've claimed you as my best friend."

bill looked pretty happy at that and stammered out a thanks.

"okay so, basically. my dad died of cancer when i was 5 and my mom fucking _lost_ it. she tried to convince me that i had all this medical shit wrong with me like fucking asthma and coeliac disease, right? except i don't, i just have adhd but she actually refused to believe that. i wasn't allowed to make friends, listen to music, choose my own clothes or have social media or anything. she tried to make me drop out of senior year too because some nosy old bitch caught me making out with a boy in the fucking alleyway beside the arcade, of all places, and spread it around derry."

"w-what the f-fuck?!" bill said, looking pretty outraged.

"i know right? i'd worked out that the medications and shit were bullshit by the time i was, like, thirteen. got a job as soon as i could, didn't tell her about it, saved every cent i got, and then i applied for UCLA. again, without telling her. left her a postcard on the table when i was leaving this morning saying i'm not coming back."

"that's f-fucking incredible, i w-wouldn't h-have been a-able to p-pull that o-off."

"i'm telling you, i think i could make it as a secret agent or a spy. what brings you to LA, bill? since we're over sharing."

"t-this is d-depressing, i g-guess, but my l-little brother georgie d-disappeared when i was t-thirteen, right?"

"oh my god bill that's _awful_ , i'm so sorry you had to go through that" eddie exclaimed, pulling bill in for a hug.

"y-yeah, i s-still miss him s-so much. my p-parents s-stopped paying a-any attention to m-me after it. i k-knew it wouldn't m-matter to t-them if i l-left, and w-when i t-told them i g-got accepted t-to UCLA they were r-relieved to get r-rid of me."

eddie hugged him tighter.

"they r-replaced g-georgie by h-having another baby, t-they don't t-talk about h-him anymore. i t-think they i-ignore me b-because i'm t-too much of a r-reminder. m-mom got d-drunk once and s-said she w-wished it was m-me that v-vanished instead. then we m-moved b-because there's a-another baby on the w-way."

"that's a real fucking dick move, what the fuck! when the semester starts, i'm making us both sign right the fuck up for counselling."

"w-we definitely n-need it."

• • • • • •

this was it. the flight had just landed. this was really happening. eddie was in los angeles. he'd already made a friend. he wasn't going to be alone through this.

"bill, i think i'm going to have a heart attack," eddie said, as bill passed him his backpack from the overhead compartment- seeing as he was the taller of the two by a considerable amount. it wasn't eddie's fault he was 5'7, in fact, he was convinced sonia's a* parenting probably played a role in it. bill had to be at least three inches taller and no eddie was _not_ jealous, thank you very much.

bill laughed at eddie's remark, "p-please don't, y-you're the one d-doing nursing, n-not me."

the first thing that hit eddie as the two boys exited the plane was the _heat_. eddie didn't exactly know what he had expected, he did know how hot LA was.

"f-fuck, i t-think we're o-overdressed." bill said.

eddie looked down at the outfit he was wearing- his beloved mom jeans and a talking heads t-shirt, complete with a long-sleeved undershirt and converse. yeah, he thought, maybe not the best of ideas. bill had made a similar mistake- with his doc martens, cargo pants and brockhampton t-shirt.

"i think i literally brought three pairs of shorts," eddie sighed.

"s-should we g-go t-thrift shopping t-today, then?"

"that's probably for the best."

by the time the two boys had collected their baggage and left the airport, the weather had _somehow_ managed to get even hotter. eddie was glad they'd managed to find a relatively cheap airbnb before they got off the plane, as he didn't think either of them would have lasted in the lukewarm, stuffy air of LAX.

uber was a _lifesaver_ , despite both boys being slightly apprehensive about downloading the app initially- growing up in small-town rural maine, uber just didn't exist. there was no need for it. however, being able to book an uber that was large enough to fit their luggage without having to face the dreaded phone call with a stranger and only having to wait ten minutes was a _blessing_.

bill pulled a packet of camel cigarettes out of his backpack and offered eddie one. eddie had only smoked a few times in his life, was this really a habit to pick up? _fuck it, live a little_. eddie accepted the cigarette and the lighter that followed, secretly proud of himself for not choking on the smoke.

"i can't believe we're actually fucking here. we're free man."

"it d-doesn't feel r-real. i k-keep t-thinking i'm gonna w-wake up any minute."

"do you want me to pinch you?" eddie laughed.

bill hesitated before saying "f-fuck no."

eddie blew smoke at bill's face, "it feels like a dream to me too, i always thought i'd only be free when my mom died."

bill scrunched his nose up, "f-fucking LA m-man, who w-woulda t-thought two kids f-from small t-town maine would g-get here?"

"i think we'll be the only freshmen from maine, honestly. i was the only person in my grade who applied for out of state."

"s-shit, really? a l-lot of p-people in b-bangor high applied for n-new york b-but thought i w-was crazy f-for LA."

"bangor's a bigger place though, probably slightly easier to imagine getting out of."

the cool air inside the uber felt like heaven after waiting outside for ten minutes. _ten fucking minutes_ and eddie and bill were convinced that they were going to die. how they were going to survive living here, they didn't know. but that didn't matter. because they were here. they'd made it. they'll figure it out.

• • • • • •

"holy shit, bill, come see this." eddie exclaimed, pulling the wu-tang clan t-shirt he'd just spotted off the rack.

"h-holy shit, y-you s-should get it," bill said.

"it's not for me, it's for you! you said you liked them, didn't you?" eddie offered the t-shirt to bill, who took it with a grin.

"t-that's the n-nicest thing s-someone's done f-for me in l-like, t-three years."

"as i've said, i've claimed you as my best friend, so get used to it."

bill threw an arm around eddie's shoulder and grinned as the smaller boy took a photo of the two in a nearby mirror.

"i'm definitely going to post that later, by the way."

"y-you s-should, i l-like it."

it shouldn't have been possible to spend over a hundred dollars in a fucking thrift store, and yet, they both had managed it. this was only the first thrift store out of several they'd found in the area, and eddie was _terrified_ for his bank balance.

it was definitely worth it, though, and this store was one the two boys planned on returning to. this particular store had everything they were looking for and more, with eddie even finding both gay and bisexual pride flags for them to decorate their apartment with as well as some posters- deciding to go for the smiths, david bowie and the pixies for his own room, secretly glad that they had a shared apartment and not the dorm rooms. eddie didn't know if he could totally sacrifice his privacy. bill had discovered a poster for the shining and launched into a five minute long rant about how much he loved the stephen king book before buying it.

the aim was to buy shorts and some other cooler, lighter clothes but eddie had still managed to purchase several sweaters and a denim jacket, and bill had bought camouflage trousers and sweatshirts. eddie had fallen in love with, and thus bought, several pairs of dungarees, especially loving a light blue pair that's previous owners had embroidered stars and planets over the pockets. bill had found some dark blue dungarees that he liked and bought them to match eddie, who was delighted at the thought.

by the time they'd left this particular store, the two boys realised that they'd completely forgotten to eat in all the excitement.

"how the fuck have we even managed this," eddie sighed, half laughing.

"w-where are w-we even g-gonna go?" bill mused.

"i think i may have an idea."

eddie had to admit, it was a good idea and he was proud of it. they'd both saved up the money to be able to enjoy these days and they'd be damned if they weren't going to.

and so, that's how bill and eddie ended up watching the sunset on venice beach eating tacos.

"t-this is f-fucking amazing- the v-view and the f-food."

"i could definitely get used to this type of shit, we should make this a monthly thing."

"i t-think i'm g-gonna use t-this as a d-date idea."

"ooooooh," eddie hummed, "with stanley?"

"s-shut up, we h-haven't even m-met him yet. he c-could be an a-asshole."

"or the love of your life."

"we n-need to f-find you a b-boyfriend," bill said, in an attempt to change the subject.

"never had one before."

"w-what? d-did you not g-get caught w-with a boy-"

"maybe, just maybe, i was just hoeing. there's a possibility that i perhaps, just maybe, wanted some sort of experience before i left derry."

"s-shit, s-seriously? to b-be fair, i've had a g-girlfriend and only h-hookups with b-boys, but i p-prefer them."

"trying to find a boyfriend in derry would have been too risky anyway, the guy i was caught with was on the track team with me and he's still heavily closeted."

"d-did they n-not spread r-rumours a-about him t-too?"

"fuck no, he covered his face and i told him to go whilst i cussed the nosy old bitch out. maybe she wouldn't have told so many people if i'd just shut up."

"it's b-better to s-stand up f-for yourself, t-though."

eddie made a noise of agreement, "i wish i'd done that more, honestly. i started standing up for myself in school after that, it shouldn't have taken so long though."

"i n-never s-stood up to b-bullies, t-too many of t-them after i c-came out. but it d-doesn't m-matter now, i d-don't plan on g-going back."

"neither do i man, fuck derry."

"f-fuck derry," bill echoed.

• • • • • •

the first three days in los angeles had flew by, and eddie had taken more photos than he could count. he was glad he had shoved his polaroid camera into one of his bags, because he knew the photos of him and bill and the landmarks they visited belonged on his wall. everything in LA felt straight out of a rich kid's incredibly aesthetically pleasing instagram page.

eddie was _loving_ it, and so were his instagram followers if the two hundred more people that had followed him since he began to post photos of LA were anything to go by. he'd only posted a couple- the photo he took of him and bill in the thrift store and one he took when they were enjoying the sunset on venice beach. but that was enough for people to decide that following @kaspbrakeddie (as well as his friend @bbillddenbrough) was worthwhile. he wasn't complaining. it was a much needed confidence boost. eddie thought _fuck it_ , and put the pride flag emoji in his bio. it doesn't matter if people from derry see it, all he's doing is confirming what they already knew.

eddie and bill had seen the places they agreed on- hollywood boulevard, griffith park and amoeba records (where they left with several records each and promised not to mention to anyone else that bill had squealed at the sight of king krule vinyls)- and more. they two had wandered around downtown LA and the grand central market, spent an evening on the santa monica pier, and did _so_ much shopping. they'd bought even more clothes and a lot of decorations for their apartment, hoping that stanley would have some sort of similar taste.

but there was something left to do, something that they had put off until the final afternoon. they were nervous, sure, but neither of them would admit that. after all, they did want to do this.

that's how bill and eddie found themselves standing outside a tattoo and piercing parlour on their fourth and final day of exploring LA before moving into student accommodation.

"we can do this," eddie said, clearly consoling himself as much as he was consoling bill.

"y-yeah, it's j-just a t-tattoo."

"i think i'm going to get two, like you suggested. have you decided?"

"i'm g-getting a t-tribe called q-quest w-written in a c-circle on m-my forearm."

"a good choice," eddie grinned. the piercing list in the window of the parlour caught eddie's eye.

"bill?" eddie asked.

"yeah?"

"what if i got a piercing or two as well, whilst we're here?"

"y-you already h-have your ears p-pierced, d,don't you?"

"yeah, and my bellybutton. but what if i got my nose? and maybe an..." eddie trailed off looking at the list, "an industrial piercing, on my ear?"

bill looked at eddie for a moment, scanning over his face, before speaking, "you'd d-definitely suit it. m-maybe i'll g-get my ears p-pierced."

eddie made a high pitched noise and jumped up and down with excitement, before grabbing bill's wrist, pulling them both towards the door.

"c'mon, before we change our minds."

• • • • • •

eddie hadn't known what to expect with getting a tattoo. he hadn't a clue what it would feel like- if it would be incredibly painful or tolerable, or if it would just be uncomfortable. he didn't even know how the piercings he had to decided to get would feel. bill clearly hadn't a clue either.

they didn't chicken out. the tattoos did hurt, but they had each other for support. eddie went first and almost broke the skin on bill's hand by gripping it so tightly. bill couldn't tease him for that, he was the exact same. eddie's nostril piercing wasn't any worse than his ears had been when he got them (and his bellybutton) pierced on an impromptu solo trip to bangor a few days after he graduated high school. his industrial piercing had been horrific, though. he didn't regret the decision to get it, and bill looked incredibly pleased with the silver rings in his own ears. therefore, all in all, it was a successful trip.

after coming out of the tattoo parlour, eddie and bill had gotten pizza and went back to their airbnb. the email they had received earlier in the day informed them that they were able to move into their accommodation any time from 9am onwards, so they were going to get breakfast at a nearby bakery in the morning and then take an uber over to the UCLA campus at around 11am.

it was 11pm now, and eddie was starting to feel nervous. he'd packed all of his stuff up, bar the things he'd need to get ready, and now the realisation was setting it.

he had really ran away from fucking home to come here. he'd really made his first proper friend. he'd really escaped from sonia. successfully. eddie was in disbelief.

"e-eddie?" bill's voice called softly from the bathroom doorway, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"yeah?"

"are y-you okay? y-you look l-like you're about t-to panic."

eddie huffed out a short laugh, "i think i'm alright. it's just- it's just crazy. like, crazy to be here. soon to be starting college on the other side of the country, when four days ago i'd never been out of state. it's, well, it's a lot to process. i'm terrified, to be honest. if i end up being really shit at nursing, i'll have to go back to derry. and that fucking terrifies me."

bill crossed the room to eddie and hugged him, which he gladly returned. eddie didn't think he'd been hugged so much in his life as he had been since he met bill.

"it's f-fucking insane, r-right? b-but you're n-not alone here, y-you have m-me. and w-we're gonna h-have the t-time of our l-lives. y-you're clearly s-smart as f-fuck to have m-made it this f-far, and y-you're gonna be f-fucking amazing at your d-degree."

eddie couldn't help but beam at bill, "you know what? you're right. we can do this. i'm gonna be a fucking great nurse and you're going to be the best fucking author of our generation. we've got this."

bill laughed, "t-that's the s-spirit, eddie. w-we s-should both go to s-sleep now, o-okay? l-long day t-tomorrow, and a-all that s-shit."

"yeah, you're right yet again," eddie said as he stood up, heading towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. "i'm always right," bill said, smiling, as he walked over to his own bed to plug his phone in on charge.

when eddie exited the bathroom, the rest of his nerves had melted away. he didn't know how, but bill seemed to know how to comfort him. maybe he was comforting himself too. eddie wasn't sure. he just knew it worked.

"goodnight bill," eddie said, as he turned the light off and headed towards his bed.

"night, eddie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i’m going to probably continue to reference music throughout this. and yes, maybe i’m taking some of the music from the actors public spotify accounts and the playlists that they made for the it movie spotify account. no, i don’t regret the time i spent looking at all of said music because i actually found some amazing songs.
> 
> chapter titles will also be songs lmao, i just really love music i guess


	3. corduroy dreams

richie tozier was _not_ a morning person. even if this morning he was being woken up by his best friend, stan uris, instead of his mother blasting ac/dc outside his door until he got up to turn it off. thinking about it, maybe being woken up by maggie's music is preferable to stan's wrath. after all, maggie let him sleep in.

"richie i told you to get up ten minutes ago," stan said, and even without his glasses on richie knew stan was standing with his arms crossed.  
"five more minutesss," richie slurred out, his voice thick with sleep.  
"i'm going to fucking tickle you, richard."  
_ah._ that one worked.  
richie scrambled to find his glasses, thankfully having left them sitting on top of his phone on stan's desk before he went to sleep. as his eyes got used to the light and, well, being able to see, richie looked around stan's room- taking it all in. it would be the last time he would.  
stan was quite the opposite of richie- where richie was loud and messy and reckless, stan was quiet and neat and calculating. that was even shown by his bedroom. richie had posters covering every wall, his wardrobe and drawers were overflowing, his desk was covered in sheet music and comedy sketches he had written- in short, it was a mess. stan's room was not. yeah, he had his posters on the walls (albeit straight and organised)- stan couldn't bare not to show off his love for rex orange county and queen. there were black sharpie lines with little initials, _r_ and _s,_ and dates beside them (showing how much richie and stan had grown in the fifteen years that they had been friends) on the door frame but they were _intentional_ and made the room more _homely._ the messiest thing in the room was _richie._ who still hadn't got the fuck out of bed.

"richie will you _please_ get ready," stan sighed.  
richie looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing- he had forgotten stan was waiting on him. richie almost did a double take.  
"you're wearing your yarmulke," richie observed, curious.  
"yeah richie, i am. and you're going to wear one too."  
richie snorted at that, "am i? i don't fucking think so. last time i wore one was my bar mitzvah, stan. i intend on keeping it that way."  
stan groaned. "i _told_ you this last night. my dad is _freaking out_ that we're both going to lose our faith and go off the rails- yes i _know_ you aren't religious but dad doesn't need to know that." stan added the last part quickly, noticing richie about to cut him off.  
"i don't think it'll match my outfit, staniel."  
"please richie, for once, just make my life easy."  
richie sighed dramatically as he stood up.  
"the things i do for you. when are my parents coming round for goodbyes?"  
"08:30am which is..." stan took his phone out of the pocket of the his trousers. richie felt the corner of his lip twitch into a half smile. stan was wearing the light blue corduroy trousers richie had bought him for his 18th birthday. "forty-five minutes. hurry the fuck up."

when richie returned from getting ready, twenty minutes had passed. he looked at stan's outfit a bit harder- light blue corduroy trousers, white collared shirt and a darker blue sweater, topped off with white converse.  
"i feel underdressed compared to you," richie remarked, looking down at his own ensemble- his trademark black mom jeans, a white FIDLAR t-shirt, a turquoise and green windbreaker and his favourite black vans.  
stan looked richie up and down, "i'm glad you've dropped the hawaiian shirt for today. don't want to make a negative impression on your roommates."  
"they could be _our_ roommates, stan. don't be so negative."  
"i doubt it. besides, i'm not checking the email until we get through security at the airport."  
"why?"  
"more important things to worry about right now. c'mon we need to eat breakfast."  
richie followed stan towards his bedroom door, pausing when stan abruptly stopped and turned to richie.  
"do _not_ take that jacket off. if my dad sees your tattoos i'm afraid he'll cry."  
"is your dad okay, stan?" richie asked, his voice soft, "he isn't usually... like _that_."  
stan sighed and walked away from the door and back into the middle of the room.  
"it's just- he's scared, obviously. since i'm the only child. he doesn't want me to just _stop being jewish_ when we leave. even though i've _told_ him it isn't going to happen. sure, i'm not _heavily_ religious any more and i don't go to synagogue unless it's a holiday but it's still our faith and our culture- i'm not going to throw it away. it's part of me, of both of us."  
richie regarded his best friend with sad eyes for a moment, before opening his arms and hugging him. "he's a rabbi, i get why he's scared. i _hope_ you'll come out of your shell and stop worrying about your dad's opinion in college but i _know_ your faith isn't the issue and i _know_ you're not going to throw it away. but yes, i'll keep my jacket on and i'll wear this fucking yarmulke until we get to the airport."  
stan smiled at richie, "you may be an asshole, but i'm glad you're my best friend."  
richie laughed, "that's the nicest thing you've said to me since the last time i got beaten up in school."  
stan rolled his eyes.  
"come on, richie. best behaviour."  
"i managed it last night, didn't i?"  
"only because my mom made matzoh ball soup and that's the only thing that'll make you shut the fuck up."  
"touché."

from a young age, richie knew he needed out of new jersey. yeah, sure, newark wasn't the worst place in the world, but richie didn't see a future there. or anywhere really. apart from hollywood. richie associated newark with bullying, anxiety, and hiding who he was. thus, at the mere age of eight, richie started planning his 'better life'- where he would move to los angeles, attend UCLA, and become a critically acclaimed actor and director. maybe a comedian and musician too, because who was to stop him? his parents had him playing piano since he could walk, now richie could play any instrument he picked up. he liked to think he was pretty funny, too.  
richie didn't think this would ever happen, really. he thought it would just be a dream. i mean really, him? richie fucking tozier? getting accepted into college? unlikely. richie fucking tozier getting accepted into the university of california los angeles? _impossible._  
except it wasn't. because he did.  
yeah, richie was a straight A student. he always had been. but no one expected him to get into college. he didn't have the _attitude_ for it. he put off things to the last minute. maybe proving people wrong was the reason richie genuinely tried his best to be accepted. after all, what is a better motivator than spite?

richie was going to UCLA to study film and television. his dream degree. his dream college. he didn't know what he would have done if he had to go to LA alone- he may have not even went to college at all. but miracles can happen, and this miracle appeared in the form of stanley fucking uris deciding to do his computer science and engineering degree at UCLA. what a fucking _godsend_.  
richie and stan had met at the age of three, a few days after maggie tozier decided to bring cookies over to the new rabbi's house and met his wife, andrea uris (who quickly became maggie's best friend). richie was loud and hyperactive, even back then, and stan was shy and quiet. it didn't seem like a combination that would last from the moment they laid eyes on each other to the present day, at eighteen years of age (almost nineteen, in stan's case). but it did.  
every significant thing that had happened in their lives, they'd been through together. first day of kindergarten. first day of elementary school, then middle school, and then high school. their bar mitzvahs. hell, they had their respective first kisses within five minutes of each other. went to their first parties together. first time getting drunk happened together. stan was there when richie decided he was going to start smoking cigarettes. he was also there when richie smoked weed for the first time and thought he was going to die and then proceeded to spend $10 on doritos. they even got bullied through school together, stan for being jewish and richie for being both jewish _and_ (rumoured to be) gay. if there was one thing richie was proud of doing in school, it was managing to deflect the people bullying stan for being gay- even if he did it by drawing all that bullying onto himself. they'd been through so much together and now they were facing the most important section of their life to date together, too- college.

richie wasn't as afraid as he should be for college. after all, he had stan. stan was a planner and he forced richie to work. so he knew he'd be fine in that sense. there was one thing he was worried about, though.  
and that thing came in the form of beverly marsh- an eighteen year old from florida that richie had been friends with online since he was thirteen. thankfully, stan had actually taken to beverly when richie had made a group chat for the three of them after knowing her a few months. even if it was online, they were still an inseparable trio. beverly was richie's only other best friend, second to stan of course, but they had never met each other. flights cost more money than they could spare.  
but tomorrow they would meet. beverly was going to UCLA too, only she was studying art. since beverly's speciality was fashion, richie had already promised he'd model for her.  
he was terrified to meet her, not because of anything to actually do with beverly- but because of richie being richie. he was _terrified_ incase beverly found him too loud or annoying or just too _weird_ and didn't want to be friends with him. that was richie's experience with a lot of people. it wasn't as if he could just stop having adhd, if it was that easy he'd just be _normal._

oh, there was also that other thing richie was prettified about- and this came in the form of rachel tozier. richie's little sister. she wasn't exactly little anymore though, she had just turned fifteen. richie wished he could take rachel with him to LA, but obviously that couldn't happen. she was only a freshman in high school, after all. the two were so close and richie was terrified of losing the bond. sure, he'd see her again over the holiday period in december (just because they didn't celebrate christmas didn't mean they weren't going to enjoy that sweet, sweet time off) when rachel was going to fly down to LA for a few days but _what if that was too long?_ what if rachel didn't want to see her brother? what if the facetime calls weren't enough and they drifted apart? richie was afraid. he didn't even know how he was meant to say goodbye to his parents, let alone rachel.  
he didn't exactly have time to panic, his family were coming over to stan's to say their goodbyes in eighteen minutes. richie still hadn't finished his cereal.

"i don't know how you can eat that stuff," stan sighed, looking at richie's bowl of lucky charms (that was in the uris household specifically for him) with disdain. richie looked at stan's acai bowl with a raised eyebrow.  
"you're nervous, aren't you?" richie observes.  
"what would make you think that?" stan said.  
"you haven't teased my choice of cereal since we were fourteen."  
"oh," stan said. "maybe i'm a bit nervous."  
"it's okay to be, staniel. you don't have to hide it."  
"i'm scared i'll embarrass myself in front of bev, for one."  
richie scoffed at that, "after all the shit we know about each other that's impossible."  
"i'm mainly scared of saying goodbye."  
"it's isn't goodbye forever stan, think of it that way. we'll be so busy that the time will fly past."  
"i think i'm going to cry when we leave."  
"that makes two of us, man. it's alright. no judgement here. just two manly bros having feelings and shit."  
stan cracked half a smile at that, and richie felt some of his own anxiety slip away.

"how long have we left?" richie asked stan a few minutes later.  
"eleven minutes."  
"fuck."  
"have you texted bev yet?"  
"fuck, no."  
time really had flew by this morning. richie was glad that he stayed over at stan's last night instead of at home, as him and rachel would've just stayed up all night together and then richie would be inevitably late. stan would have murdered him.  
stan's dad was never late, so richie knew it really would only be eleven minutes until donald and andrea arrived back at their house with the toziers in tow.  
richie pulled his phone out.

**To: Beaverly**  
**_good morning sunshine, luv from ur favourite socially awkward jewish boys_ **

His phone buzzed ten seconds later.

**From: Beaverly**  
**_g'morning. now fucking call me, homos_ **

"what's she saying?" stan asked  
"she wants us to call her."  
"hurry the fuck up then."

richie sighed and hit the call button, before putting his phone on speaker and setting it on the table.  
"richie! stan! hello!" beverly's voice crackled.  
"hey bev, how are you?" stan asked.  
"honestly? i feel like i'm going to shit myself. but like, with excitement. and maybe terror. i dunno, i've never been on a plane before."  
"they aren't that bad, take off is a bit rough, though," richie offered.  
"my aunt told me i can't smoke after i go into the airport. how the FUCK am i meant to cope?" beverly exclaimed.  
"did you not know that?" stan said, looking concerned.  
"no! i'm getting to miami international, like, two hours before my flight and then the flight is five and a half hours, man, what the fuck!"  
"i forgot that was a thing oh _shit._ our flight is six hours," richie groaned.  
"you're not going to survive that, rich," beverly snorted.  
"it's funny for you, bev," stan groaned, "you're not the one that's going to have to put up with richie shaking on the plane."  
"do you think i could use my ecig in the toilets?"  
"i'll open the fucking airlock if you do."  
"fucking shit, stan. i won't then."  
the three of them laughed at that. ringing beverly had definitely calmed them down.  
"right, let's run over the plan then," stan said, after they'd stopped.  
"god stan," beverly whined, "must you be so organised?"  
"my parents and richie's family will be here in three minutes."  
richie sighed, "okay so, our flights are getting in within half an hour of each other- stan and i will be there first, at about 6pm- oh, 3pm local time."  
"and i'm meeting you guys right outside the front entrance when i get off my flight," beverly continued.  
"then we're getting an uber to the airbnb and dropping our shit off. then hopefully getting food," stan added.  
"and _then_ tomorrow, we move into the dorms." richie finished.  
"have you guys checked who your roommates are yet?" beverly asked.  
"stan won't let me," richie sighed.  
"i just don't want to worry about it until we've said goodbye to everyone! we can check in the airport and stalk their facebooks."  
"i'm hoping to keep stan but also have a cute twink," richie said.  
"is stan not enough of a cute twink?" beverly giggled.  
richie laughed, "well yeah, but i don't want to fuck him, ms marsh."  
"thankfully," stan sighed.

they were interrupted by the noise of two cars pulling up outside- one into the garage and the other into the driveway.  
"shit, they're here," richie said, his voice softer.  
"fuck, okay guys. i'll talk to you soon, okay? text me when you get to the airport and all that good shit. i love you both!" beverly said quickly.  
"love you bev, talk to you later," stan said.  
"i love you the most beverly darling, we'll be with you before you know," richie said, before hanging up.

"are you ready, stan the man?" richie said, putting on the yarmulke stan had thrown to him earlier.  
"as ready as i'll ever be," stan groaned, as his father's key turned in the front door.

• • • • • •

stan wasn't the first to cry, richie was. stan expected that though. the uris family were a lot more calm and collected than the toziers, making it easier for stan to hold his tears in for longer. stan really loves the toziers though, they had hugged stan harder than his own parents had and reminisced childhood tales over their coffee inside as if stan was their own son. it made stan feel warm inside. and outside, if the burning feeling on his cheeks was anything to go by.  
stan's parents loved him, he knew that. but they weren't exactly ones for public displays of affection. they preferred to show their love with words and by what they did for him, not with physical motions- even if stan sometimes wished they would do that more often. stan felt awkward when his father hugged him, and he knew his father had felt even more awkward, but it meant a lot that his father had hugged him tight in the middle of the street.  
he didn't cry when his father hugged him. he was proud of that. he wanted to look strong, like he knew exactly what he was doing and he wasn't afraid. but then he had turned to hug his mother. and the moment he looked at her, his eyes filled with tears. she was already crying. stan knew it was a mixture between sadness that he was leaving but overwhelming happiness and pride at where he was going.

stan's mother wiped the tears off his cheeks as the taxi pulled up outside the uris family home. his father pulled him in for one final hug before walking over to help the taxi driver put his and richie's bags in the van.  
he walked over to say his _final_ final goodbyes to the toziers. wentworth and maggie hugged him and wished him luck and that they would see him as soon as possible. rachel took one look at stan and then her bottom lib wobbled and she threw herself at him. stan wrapped his arms around her, a fresh wave of tears falling from his own eyes. richie hugged his parents a final time and then stan beckoned him over to him and rachel for a final group hug- something they made sure they always did before one of them had to go anywhere. rachel was like a sister to stan; and she had said on many occasions that she has two older brothers, one of them just isn't a blood brother. stan truly was heartbroken to be leaving her.

they stayed like that for a couple minutes, crying together, before breaking apart. stan let richie say his last goodbyes to rachel whilst he went to hug his parents again.  
they surprised him, again. both of his parents hugged him at the same time. stan couldn't help but smile, even if he was still crying.  
stan's phone vibrated in his pocket- the reminder he had set to let them know they this was the latest they could leave.  
they broke away from each other reluctantly, with many quiet _good lucks_ and _don't forget to text/ call/ facetime._

"richie..." stan said, looking at his best friend.  
"i know, stan. shall we then?"  
they hugged each other before finally getting into the taxi, and waved until they got out of stan's street.

stan felt his heart swell as his house disappeared behind them, and the five people standing in a group outside grew smaller and smaller.

 _mishpocheh._  
his dad would be proud of him for remembering that one.

• • • • • •

the two boys had continued to cry for half of the journey to the airport, both secretly thankful that the driver was respectful of this and didn't judge or talk to them.  
the journey was over quicker than anticipated. they arrived at newark liberty international airport at 9:45am, whilst stan had predicted 10:15am. that was perfect though, the flight was at 12pm. stan texted beverly in their groupchat to let her know they were outside the airport whilst richie took off his yarmulke, rolled up his jacket sleeves, and lit up a cigarette.  
stan snorted, "for fuck sake, richie, you couldn't wait a moment longer, could you?"  
richie grinned at him, "i told you, yarmulke stays on until we get to the airport. not a moment longer."  
stan rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling.

"fuck it. we should check our roommates whilst we're out here. i can't wait until we're through security, it's killing me," stan said. richie could tell he was nervous to do that.  
"no matter what, you're still my best friend, stan. we've put in for the same apartment block, and so has bev. we aren't going to be far apart even if we aren't roommates."  
stan had forgot about that, naturally- his brain going straight in to panic.

he opened the email and scanned through it, feeling himself deflate. he looked up at richie, who just looked mildly disappointed.  
"my roommates are called edward kaspbrak and william denbrough," stan said.  
"mine are benjamin hanscom and michael hanlon, what's your apartment number?"  
"4B."  
"holy shit stan, i'm 4A and bev is 4D."  
"so you're beside me and bev is across the hall?"  
"exactly."  
stan didn't feel so heartbroken about not rooming with richie anymore, "maybe this isn't so bad after all."

after checking in and dropping off their bags and going through security, richie and stan made themselves comfortable in the food court with coffee and croissants. they'd decided to attempt to stalk their roommates, but weren't having much luck. every account they'd seen so far had been middle aged men.  
"for the fourth time stan, _nicknames_. i don't think they're going to be on facebook by fucking edward and william. try... ed and bill?"  
"i doubt it," stan murmured, but he tried anyway. "ed kaspbrak... no. bill denbrough... oh!" stan looked pleasantly surprised.  
"what?"  
"i've found a bill denbrough that looks about our age? and in his cover photo, which was updated yesterday, is an eddie kaspbrak."  
"i fucking told you it'd be nicknames. just because your facebook says stanley uris doesn't mean everyone is going to be that prim and proper."  
"beep beep, richie. do you wanna see them or not?"

stan showed richie bill's cover photo- a photo of him and eddie taken in the mirror of what appeared to be a thrift store. yeah, bill was pretty attractive, but richie's eyes went straight to eddie. he was _gorgeous._  
"will you stop drooling on my fucking phone, richie!"  
"you're drooling over bill, let me have eddie."  
"you're insufferable."  
"and yet, you've stuck me for fifteen years. c'mon, where're they from?"  
"bill is from bangor, maine, but living in a town called derry, also maine. eddie is from derry, maine."  
"so they're childhood best friends or some shit?"  
"i mean the caption of bill's cover photo says 'i've been in LA for two days and already made a best friend' so i'm assuming no."  
"i didn't think to read it."  
"of course not richie, you were too busy fucking drooling over eddie."  
"he's _hot,_ " richie said, defensively.  
"i prefer bill."  
"i can see that."  
"fuck up. we're stalking your roommates now."

they found michael hanlon under the name mike hanlon, and benjamin hanscom under ben hanscom. pretty obvious, thankfully. mike was from new orleans, louisiana, and ben was from chicago, illinois. they both looked friendly, even from their profile photos, and richie hoped they'd be able to put up with him. he wasn't instantly attracted to either of them, though. which was good. richie didn't know how he'd live with them if he did. it was better if he ended up thirsting over stan's roommates instead.

it felt like five minutes had passed when boarding for their flight began, when really it had been well over half an hour.  
richie was rocking on the balls of his feet in the queue for boarding, and all stan could do was smile. at richie. at the stewardess when she scanned his boarding pass. at the woman who's bag he put in the overheard cabin since she couldn't reach. stan didn't think there was much in this world that could wipe the smile off his face. that delighted richie, he was so, so glad to see stan so visibly happy. this may have been one of the happiest richie had ever seen him.

take off was in less than ten minutes, they were just waiting on another plane landing. richie knew he should text beverly, and opened the groupchat.

**To: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**trashmouth:** **_taking off soon ;)_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_see u soon beverly dahlingggg_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_think stan is on ecstasy hes too happy lmao_ **

stan stuck his elbow into richie's ribs as he typed a reply into the groupchat.

**From: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**bird man:** **_shut the fuck up_ **  
**bird man:** **_i'm just excited_ **  
**bird man:** **_i can feel emotion too_ **  
**beverage:** **_i know stan i'm really excited too_ **  
**beverage:** **_roughly 7 hours until i see you both??_ **  
**beverage:** **_can't wait to beep richie face to face_ **  
**bird man:** **_you'll fucking need to_ **

richie mimed a broken heart.

**To: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**trashmouth:** **_fuck u both_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_i'm going to be EXTRA inappropriate_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_out of SPITE_ **

**From: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**beverage:** **_god, i can't fucking wait_ **  
**bird man:** **_i fucking can_ **  
**bird man:** **_he's told me he'd fuck one of my roommates 4 times so far_ **  
**beverage:** **_that's just his warm up comments_ **  
**bird man:** **_i know, that's why i'm scared_ **

richie snorted, just as the pilot began his announcement that they were beginning their taxi to the runway. meaning all devices needed to be placed on airplane mode. stan was already typing something into the groupchat, rapidly, and richie did the same.

**From: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**bird man:** **_ok we have to put our phones on airplane mode now_ **  
**bird man:** **_take off and shit_ **  
**bird man:** **_see you soon bev love you <3_ **

richie sighed. stan had beat him to it.

**To: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**trashmouth:** **_shut up stan_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_yeah anyway flights taking off now_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_hope we don't die cos i actually don't want to for once_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_can't wait to see u bev i love u_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_have a safe flight u'll be okay <33_ **

richie looked at stan and they grinned at each other as the flight took off.

this was it. the beginning of this new, exciting chapter of their lives.  
richie was ecstatic.

• • • • • •

richie almost fell over getting off the plane, and stan had to stop for a couple minutes to stop laughing.  
"it's not _that_ funny stan!"  
"bev's gonna fucking love that."  
"if she can put up with me, that is," richie murmured.  
"what?" stan said, looking shocked, "richie, you do know you're not exactly less annoying online? if bev found you annoying she would have already."  
"is that supposed to be comforting or..?"  
"richie! you've been friends with bev since we were thirteen! we're turning nineteen soon! if she was going to find you annoying she would have ages ago, she's stuck with you now. and i know she isn't mad about it."  
"that's a bit more comforting."  
stan rolled his eyes and hugged richie, "there. all better now?"  
"i'll be better when i get a cigarette."  
"hurry up then."

richie didn't think he had ever enjoyed a cigarette so much in his life, he didn't think it was even possible to. he definitely wasn't going to take being able to walk outside to smoke for granted again. he finished it so quickly. too quickly.  
"shit, richie, another one? seriously"  
"helps with the nerves."  
"give me it," stan said, taking the cigarette out of richie's hand and proceeding to smoke it. richie looked at stan as if he had three heads.  
"you... just... what? you never do that."  
"killing time?" stan offered.  
"is this the rebellious stan from when we were fourteen coming back?" richie teased.  
stan visibly cringed at the memory. richie thought that entire summer was _incredible._ even if it had only lasted for the summer and then stan was back to being his normal self for their freshman year of high school. stan had gotten properly drunk for the first time that summer, had tried cigarettes and weed and even had a summer fling with two different boys. stan was mortified whenever he was reminded about it, but richie would recall it with glee.  
"whatever will come next? jumping off another forty foot high cliff face into a quarry? getting into fistfights with our middle school bullies? downing straight tequila in your garage and telling your mom you like dick? getting caught making out with a random boy outside target by your dad?"  
_"richie!"_ stan squealed, his face heating up. all richie could do was laugh. stan groaned. "you need to text your mum and dad to say we've landed. bev's landing in a minute."  
richie sighed and pulled his phone out; typing the message rapidly, barely even paying attention. that was a talent, at least in his eyes.  
"i'm excited now. i really am. college, man. what the fuck."  
"didn't think we'd get this far?" stan asked.  
"didn't think _I_ would get this far, staniel. i knew you would."  
"shut up richie, you're as smart as i am. you just don't have sense."  
richie was about to make a comeback when both of their phones vibrated, meaning it had to be the group chat. richie took his phone out of his pocket to check.

**From: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**beverage:** **_plane just landed!!!!_ **  
**beverage:** **_should i be using my phone yet?_ **  
**beverage:** **_never mind i don't care i'm doing it anyway_ **  
**beverage:** **_i'll see you so both soon wtf_ **

stan and richie smiled at each other. they got out of the airport so quickly, surely beverly would too.

**To: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**trashmouth:** **_we're sitting on a bench to the left of the doors_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_i have a cigarette with ur name on it_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_one with stan's name too apparently_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_leaves derry once and thinks he can steal my cigs_ **  
**trashmouth:** **_what a dick_ **

stan shoved richie from beside him.

**From: Gay, Gay, BISEXUAL**  
**bird man:** **_beep beep richie_ **  
**bird man:** **_i would NEVER_ **  
**beverage:** **_omg stan_ **  
**beverage:** **_look at you go_ **  
**beverage:** **_all grown up_ **  
**bird man:** **_i'm older than both of you shut up_ **  
**beverage:** **_no_ **  
**beverage:** **_i'm just waiting on my bag now btw and then i'll be out_ **  
**bird man:** **_holy shit see you SOON soon_ **

"oh my god stan that was fucking fast," richie said.  
"we'll be fine it's just bev," stan reassured him.  
"do you think my clothes will meet her standards?"  
"probably not but it's fine."

richie and stan drifted into a conversation about what they were going to do later and where they were getting food until a familiar scream drew their attention to the doors.  
beverly. there she was. in all her 5'2, ginger, dungaree-wearing glory. stan and richie both jumped up and ran to hug her. a group hug seemed pretty fitting, they didn't want to take turns.  
"holy _shit._ you're actually here," beverly giggles after they let go.  
"where the fuck else would we be?" stan said in disbelief.  
"i don't know! i was scared incase you'd leave!"  
"bev what the fuck, we've been waiting for this moment since we were thirteen!" richie laughed.  
"i know, i know. now, where's that cigarette i was promised?"  
richie rolled his eyes as he fished the box out of his pocket. typical. he gave beverly one, took one for himself and offered the box to stan, who rolled his eyes before taking one.  
"jesus, stan," beverly snorted.  
"who's that?" he replied.  
"when did you get edgy? you look like a pastel eboy."  
"i don't know if that's a compliment but i'm going to take it as one anyway," stan said, taking the lighter richie was offering him with a smile.

it was weird, being in LA, richie thought. with both stan _and_ beverly. he never expected them to end up somewhere together for the long term. sure, they'd planned that one day they'd go for a road trip together and that richie and stan would visit florida for a week at some point. but college? together? moving to a new state, on the other side of the country, just the three of them? that was beyond richie's wildest dreams.  
they'd decided that they were really much too tired to try and explore LA. by the time they got settled in their airbnb it was 4:30pm, anyway. they were starving, but they wanted to see _something_ touristy. beverly has suggested santa monica pier.  
so that was where they ended up. they ended up watching the sunset from the end of the boardwalk eating ice-cream. really, the perfect way to end the perfect day.  
they asked a passerby to take a photo of the three of them standing there, and the person was nice enough to take several. naturally, richie had to update his cover photo on facebook right there and then, with the caption "the three muskaqueers." what else was he supposed to caption it?

stan yawned and stretched, "my alarms set for 8am. go the fuck to sleep."  
"is he usually this forceful, richie?" beverly asked from the other side of the room.  
"he usually threatens grievous bodily harm, he's being nice today," he replied.  
"fuck, okay then," she giggled, turning the lamp beside her bed off. "goodnight boys, long day ahead tomorrow."  
"night, bev," stan and richie said, at the same time.  
"jinx" richie whispered.  
"go to sleep, richie."  
"you're no fun," he sighed, but closed his eyes nonetheless. a long day ahead tomorrow indeed.


	4. sweet dreams (are made of this)

eddie had forgotten to warn bill what his alarm was. sure, it sounds like a stupid and meaningless thing to forget, but bill had jumped so hard he fell out of bed. tamale by tyler the creator certainly woke eddie up when he had set an alarm to get up the day he left derry, but he hadn't really thought that he'd need to change it.

8am was far too early for bill denbrough to be on the floor with his heart beating out of his chest and it was _definitely_ too early for eddie kaspbrak to be in tears laughing at his friend.

"j-jesus fucking christ, e-eddie. p-please change t-that."

"i'm _so_ sorry, i fucking forgot that was my alarm," eddie said, still wheezing.

"i g-guess it worked, d-didn't it? we're b-both up."

"yeah, but i know this isn't how i wanted to wake up."

bill rolled his eyes, "y-you're on t-thin ice, kaspbrak. i-i'm gonna s-shower."

eddie couldn't wipe the smile off his face, even after bill had went into the bathroom. today was the day. moving day. eddie was going to be in his _element_ , decorating his bedroom the way sonia never let him and making their little apartment feel like home. he'd already planned out where his posters were going to go and where he'd put his record player and the basket that he had bought to put his records in. he'd bought bedsheets with constellations on them and fairy lights and a tarot card tapestry. bill had brought a playstation 4 with four controllers and more games than eddie could count to put in their tiny living area and they were hopefully going to go and get beanbags and some other things they deemed essential later, planning to invite stanley with them. eddie was _excited_. his life had changed so much so quickly and he didn't think anything could knock him off this feeling.

he was excited to meet stanley as well. eddie thought he would be terrified to meet a total stranger that he'd be living with but he had a good feeling about stanley; he didn't know why but he got the feeling they would become good friends. he just hoped he wasn't wrong. eddie was debating stalking stanley's facebook when bill came out of the bathroom, barefoot with his hair soaked and wearing the dungarees he bought to match eddie paired with a blue and green _golf_ shirt.

"looking good, denbrough," eddie smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

bill beamed at him, "r-really? you t-think so?"

eddie nodded his head, still smiling, and bill thanked him, before jumping onto eddie's bed beside him.

"s-so, what're y-you doing? you l-looked like y-you were c-considering something."

"debating sending stanley a friend request, would that be weird?"

"nah, d-do it, i'll s-send one t-too."

"i'm gonna stalk his profile while i'm at it though."

"w-why?"

"his friend in his cover photo is hot."

"f-fucking hell, eddie."

eddie giggled and searched for stanley's profile, sending him a friend request and then clicking onto his cover photo. bill stared at it

"h-he is hot, i g-guess. q-questionable fashion, b-but he makes it w-work."

"doesn't he!" eddie exclaimed, "i've never seen hawaiian shirts look _that_ good."

"is he t-tagged?

"uhm..." eddie tapped the screen, "yeah! his name is richie tozier."

"a-anything i-interesting?"

eddie clicked on richie's cover photo and inhaled sharply.

"i d-don't know what the f-fuck that means, e-eddie."

"look!" eddie exclaimed, turning his phone so bill could see. richie's cover photo was a photo of him and stanley with a red-haired girl at the santa monica pier.

"oh s-shit! so y-you reckon h-he's going t-to UCLA?"

"it says on his profile he's from newark, new jersey, so i'd imagine so?"

"h-hey, maybe you'll g-get the m-man of your d-dreams."

"who knows, maybe i will. i'll have to set you up with stanley, even if it's the last thing i do."

"h-he's probably s-straight."

"my gaydar is going OFF, but okay, let's see," eddie said, scrolling through richie's public photos. he noticed one of a pride parade and clicked on it. in the photo, richie and stan we're wrapped in a pride flag, with flags painted across their cheeks. they were both holding a sign that said _'no one is voluntarily attracted to men'_. eddie sniggered, pretty glad to know that richie was definitely not straight, and turned his phone back to bill. "this doesn't look too heterosexual to me."

"y-yeah, you're r-right. i probably w-won't be his t-type."

"shut the fuck up bill, or so help me god."

bill laughed and got up off eddie's bed, "you n-need to s-shower or we w-won't have t-time to get food, m-man."

"fuck, i completely forgot about that," eddie said, jumping up and grabbing the clothes he had set out for himself. he'd decided to match bill and wear the dungarees with embroidered stars and planets that he had found in the thrift store with a pink and yellow striped t-shirt. he was planning to top it off with a pair of yellow golf le fleurs and maybe draw some stars or dots on his face with eyeliner, if bill hyped him up enough. he'd already painted him and bill's nails black the previous night.

eddie really was genuinely content. he took the time he spent in the shower to really think about that. he _was_ content, and he hoped it stayed that way even when classes began. yeah, he was expecting to be _incredibly_ stressed out by his degree but he knew he would enjoy it. he just hoped he would keep enjoying los angeles. and that he would make friends, for the first time in his life. eddie wasn't even sure how to make friends, he had _no idea_ how he managed to befriend bill but he was so, so glad he did. eddie didn't think a friend could be made just so fast, especially a friend he knew he'd have for life. bill and him were in sync with their thoughts and they already knew each other inside and out, even in such a short time.

eddie decided he would just draw the tiny stars beneath his eyes anyway, instead of asking bill for encouragement. _fuck it_ , what did he have to lose anyway? this was los angeles, not derry. he doubted people would care. looking in the mirror after he had finished up with the eyeliner, eddie actually liked what he saw. for the first time, ever, in eighteen and a half years of living.

he twirled as he walked out of the bathroom, showing off his outfit from all angles.

"well? how do i look?"

"you l-look amazing! if r-richie doesn't f-fall in love w-with you, he's m-missing out."

"bill! i'm looking for _friends_!"

"that m-makes two of u-us, then," bill said, raising an eyebrow.

"fuck off. should i wipe the stars off? is it too much?"

bill stood up and walked towards eddie to take a better look, "y-you can't see t-them from f-far away, if t-that's what y-you're worried about. t-they look really g-good, though! s-subtle, yet a-artistic."

"that's _exactly_ what i'm going for!"

"if y-you take it o-off, i'll be m-mad at you."

eddie rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, "guess i'll _have_ to keep it on then."

it didn't take long for the two boys to pack up toiletries and phone chargers and anything else they could possibly have taken out of their suitcases in the past four days. eddie was _starving_ and he knew bill was much the same.

the bakery they were going towards was far enough away from their airbnb that they would get to enjoy the hot morning as they walked, but close enough that they wouldn't get sunburnt and sweaty.

eddie ordered a croissant and a vanilla latte, whilst bill settled on a cinnamon roll and black coffee. perfectly instagrammable choices, and they both posted it on their respective stories when they sat down. the bakery had outdoor seating which was, thankfully, air conditioned and so eddie and bill took a seat beneath a parasol and beside an air conditioning unit.

"what time is it?" eddie asked his friend.

"9:45am," bill replied.

" _perfect_. forty-five minutes to enjoy this, then?"

"y-yeah, we'll g-get back at 11am and t-then all w-we need is to l-lift our shit and g-get an u-uber."

"i'm so fucking excited!" eddie said, as his and bill's phones vibrated simultaneously. they both looked at them in curiosity.

"s-stanley accepted y-yeah?"

"yeah, hope he doesn't think we're fucking weird."

their phones vibrated again, this time with two new friend requests- richie tozier and beverly marsh. they both accepted them.

"b-beverly?" bill asked.

"she must be the girl in richie's cover photo?" eddie offered.

"was m-more focused on s-stanley, h-honestly."

"that's fucking gay."

"s-shut up."

• • • • • •

richie tozier hadn't realised how much the travelling of the previous day had tired him, stan and beverly out. sure, the three of them were exhausted and fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow last night; but he didn't think they had been _this_ tired. not tired enough to sleep through _all_ of their alarms.

and yet, they had. the trio set their first alarm for 7:45am, then 8am, 8:15am, and 8:30am. they thought any more than that would be overkill. apparently it would have been sensible. it was now 9:40am and richie and beverly had just been rudely awoken by stan's scream.

"holy _fuck_ ," beverly hissed, rubbing her eyes from the dim light flooding the room, "are you okay, stan?"

richie didn't even know if he was capable of speech at the moment, choosing to make what he hoped was a clear house of agreement with his friend.

" _no!_ do you know what _time_ it is?" stan said, his voice considerably higher than usual.

"i'm guessing not 7:45am?"

"9:40am."

"oh _shit_ ," beverly mumbled.

that woke richie up a considerable amount.

"you're joking," richie said, rubbing his eyes with the back of one hand whilst reaching for his glasses with the other. he blinked as his eyes adjusted to being able to see. the distraught look on stan's face implied he was serious.

"no! look! 9:42am now."

beverly slid out of her bed and onto her feet.

"right, i'm making coffee. richie, get off your ass and calm stan."

"aye aye, capn," richie sighed, stumbling to his feet and crossing over to stan's bed. stan was staring at the time with a look of mild horror.

"hey," richie said softly, putting an arm around him, "it doesn't matter if we're a bit later than planned, stan. we have all day."

"we won't be ready until 12, i know we won't."

"there's nothing wrong with that. we'll be there at 12:30, get our keys and all that shit and we'll be all nice and moved in well before dinner time. i promise."

"it'll look bad if bill and eddie get there before me."

"what?" richie said, puzzled, "would you think they looked bad if you got there first?"

"well, no."

"then why would you look bad? just blame me, if it makes you feel better. surprised it isn't me, for once."

stan cracked a smile at that, and richie continued, "besides, they mightn't even be moving in early. they could be coming in the mid-afternoon or evening."

"that's a fair point," stan mumbled, and richie hugged him.

"my wisdom is immeasurable, young staniel," richie said, laughing as stan shoved him.

beverly came back with the coffee and richie practically snatched it from her hands, before tilting his head back and chugging it. beverly looked at him in horror, whilst stan was completely unfazed.

"yeah, he does that sometimes," stan offered, looking at beverly sympathetically.

"that's fucking _boiling_ hot," she muttered.

"that doesn't stop him, he enjoys pain," stan said rolling his eyes fondly, before lifting his phone and beginning to scroll through notifications. he made a soft oh sound a moment later.

"what is it?" richie asked.

"i have friend requests from eddie and bill."

"bill must be keen."

"are they your roommates, stan?" beverly asked.

"yeah, they seem nice enough."

"do they know each other?"

"from our in depth, highly thorough stalking, i've deduced they lived in the same town in maine but met on the plane to LA or some shit," richie said, in a posh english accent, tipping an imaginary hat.

"alright, sherlock."

"i've also deduced that our beloved staniel is highly attracted to bill."

"shut _up_ , richie! you have your eyes set on eddie!"

"can we send them friend requests? please?" beverly asked, giving stan puppy-dog eyes. richie joined in.

"i can hardly stop you," stan sighed. beverly punched the air and whooped as she got up to grab her and richie's phones.

after the friend requests had been sent, beverly started flicking through the two boys' public photos.

" _ooh_ ," she cooed, "i must say, they do look like exactly your types."

richie snorted.

"i don't have a type," stan said, in disbelief.

"whore," richie muttered, dodging the pillow stan then tried to beat him with.

"i am _not_!"

"whatever you say, stan the man. summer before high school says otherwise."

" _richie!_ " stan squeaked, a blush forming across his cheeks.

"i would kill to have been there," beverly said.

"i'd kill to go back. stan could knock back half a bottle of gin and still act as if he was sober."

"apart from the time i did that and came out to my mom," stan muttered, darkly.

"what was it you said exactly, stan? i think i've forgotten," beverly said, grinning.

"fuck off," stan replied, putting his head in his hands.

"oh! i know it off by _heart_ ," richie exclaimed, dramatically clearing his throat before doing his best stan voice, complete with slight slurring "mom, i have to tell you something. i like dick. like, i _really_ like dick. don't tell dad yet, though. i'll tell him another time. but i really _love_ men. like a lot. i'm gay. a _flaming_ homosexual. as straight as a circle."

stan shoved him off the bed, but he was laughing. beverly was laughing so hard she was almost crying.

richie continued on, "and _then_ he had the audacity to tell andrea that i'm _also_ gay whilst he was at it! the _asshole!_ "

"what? you never told me that!"

"oh beverly darling hold on, i know this bit too," richie said, slipping back into his stan impression, "don't be mad, it's okay. richie likes dick too. richie might like it more. he's a slut. what? it's _true!_ you can't hate the truth, mom!"

"how did she even react?"

stan groaned.

"she hugged me and told me she was proud of me no matter what and then i slipped away and ran out the door to go to richie's."

"the moment stan left the house his mom called my mom, who thankfully knew i was gay since the moment she gave birth to me. then they just bonded over their crackhead homosexual children whilst stan and i drank the rest of his gin in a park."

stan looked annoyed, furious in fact, but he couldn't stop himself from bursting into a fit of laughter with his two best friends.

"what about your dad, stan?"

"oh yeah, mom didn't tell him but he found out himself, like, a week later because he fully watched me making out with a boy. i didn't notice him, but it was a fun conversation when i got home."

“stan texted me and i snuck into his house through his bedroom window and listened from the top of the stairs. i think it was the best conversation i’ve ever heard but also the most awkward.”

"was he mad?" beverly asked.

"disappointed that i told my mom first. kinda sad he wasn't gonna get biological grandchildren. but he supported me, said it didn't change anything and shit like that. which isn't what i was expecting, with him being a rabbi and shit."

"when i told my aunt i was bisexual she laughed and asked me what took me so long to work it out," beverly laughed.

"i didn't come out, i knew that my mom knew. and if my mom knew, my dad did too. so i just sat and mentioned boys i found attractive whilst watching movies and shit when i was twelve, and that was that," richie said with a smile.

"why do you guys get fun, peaceful coming out stories? i had to spend a solid half hour telling my mom that i had drank some of her and my dad's alcohol solely to get the confidence to come out and then literally _traumatised_ my own father."

"we all know your innocence and responsibility is a facade," richie quipped.

"was it even your parent's alcohol?" beverly asked.

"fuck no," stan said, getting up off the bed, "richie sweet talked some kid at the skatepark with a fake id into buying it."

"and i'm damn proud of that!" richie called after stan, who had headed into the bathroom for a shower. beverly shook her head at him but she was smiling.

"wake me up when it's my turn to shower," richie told beverly, as he threw himself back into his own bed.

yeah, coming to los angeles had definitely been a good idea. getting to piss off both beverly and stan twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week was definitely richie's version of the american dream.

sure, he was terrified for the day ahead- he couldn't tell much about his roommates personalities from just the public details on facebook. he hadn't even sent them friend requests yet. but of course, he had sent stan's roommates friend requests. mainly because of eddie. richie hadn't even known he had a type until he saw eddie's facebook profile. it had to have been fate for stan to be assigned literal perfection in human form as a roommate. richie wasn't complaining.

richie felt like he had been asleep for days when beverly woke him up. he still leaped up, nonetheless. stan was _definitely_ still on edge about the whole sleeping in thing, and richie didn't want him to panic further.

stan's words from the previous morning echoed in richie's head, and he decided to skip on the hawaiian shirt today as well. didn't want to make a weird first impression on mike and ben. he ended up lifting essentially the same clothes as the previous day- the same jeans and converse, only with a rocky horror picture show t-shirt. surely a subtle way to let people know he's gay without having to say it. the whole _telling people_ thing was something richie still really struggled with as a result of all the high school bullying, even if he knew he was _pretty obviously not straight._

richie was pretty sure he had showered in record-breaking time. for him, at least. he hadn't pondered the meaning of human existence whilst standing under the water today. he didn't even stare at his reflection in the mirror until it distorted after he got dressed. so it was a good day, today.

when richie left the bathroom it was 11:30am, and beverly and stan were eating pastries on the balcony. richie grabbed his cigarettes and his lighter before he walked out to join them. beverly offered him a pastry and he accepted it with a smile, offering a cigarette to both her and stan. both accepted.

"i hope this isn't going to become a regular thing, stan," beverly said, raising an eyebrow.

stan looked appalled, "no way, i'm not picking up the habit."

"be careful then, or you will," richie said.

"no one ever sets out with the aim of developing a nicotine addiction," beverly pointed out, matter-of-factly.

"richie did," stan offered.

_"what?"_

richie swallowed the pastry he had been chewing, before answering; "i was _thirteen_ and in a self-destructive spiral."

"you're meant to deny it, richard!" beverly scolded.

"what's the point in lying?" he fired back.

stan rolled his eyes, finishing his cigarette and flicking it into the ashtray.

"you two can bicker this out all you want, i'm booking our uber for 15 minutes."

"12 o'clock? right as predicted, then?" beverly asked.

"and not a minute later. we're all truly amazing," richie said, putting a hand over his heart.

"make sure your shit is packed, richie. not my problem if you forget something."

"you sound like my dad, only crueler," richie sighed, flicking his own cigarette into the ashtray and getting up. beverly followed.

as they got into the uber, it hit richie. yeah, this was it. moving day had truly began. t-minus 30 minutes until arrival at the UCLA campus. richie didn't think anything could wipe the smile off his face as he stared out the window, taking in the scenery.

this was the life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you’re reading this, hello! sorry for not updating for ages, i was trying to work out exactly what to write in this chapter lmao.
> 
> i never realised how much random knowledge i’d have to google to be able to write an american college au as someone who lives in the uk. i’ve got the weirdest, most specific shit in my search history now smh.
> 
> fun fact; it took me an hour when i started writing this story to work out where i wanted everyone to be from. deadass sat looking up cities and even flight times from the cities to LA. then listened to accents from those cities to make sure it fit my vision for the story.
> 
> to refresh though;  
> eddie and bill: derry, maine  
> richie and stan: newark, new jersey  
> beverly: miami, florida  
> mike: new orleans, louisiana  
> ben: chicago, illinois
> 
> literally updating this at almost 3am but anyway, hope you’re enjoying the story so far


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